The Found Film

Last week, as I sifted through a drawer, I ran across a roll of undeveloped film. I knew it was old because I haven't used a film camera in many years. I am sure I've stumbled over it before but for some reason, this time I picked it up and took it to CVS to have it developed.

After I looked at the pictures when I picked them up Saturday, I determined the photos were taken around the time of my mother's funeral, which would have been late August, 2000.

I don't think I took them - I know I didn't take all of them, because I am in some of them. I doubt I would have been in the frame of mind to take pictures that day. Somehow I ended up with this film. Maybe someone was using my camera.

Unfortunately, apparently the film had a light leak and most (but not all) of the pictures had a big green streak through them. The film was also old and I suspect that had something to do with the quality. By transferring them to black and white on the computer, I was able to get the pictures to come out a little better. They're still pretty grainy, though.

Based on this experience, any other rolls of film I come across I shall have developed immediately. Time does not seem to be kind to this medium.

My great-aunt, Neva, and my grandmother, Melba.

 

From left: Uncle Butch, Uncle Jerry, Uncle Junior, Aunt Carolyn, Uncle Peanut (Melvin); bottom, Aunt Neva and Grandma.

 

From left: Aunt Neva, Cousin Leann, Cousin Michelle, Me, Michelle's daughter Ashleigh (I think), my grandmother, and Michelle's daughter Kelsey (I think).

 

Aunt Neva, Aunt Sherry, Uncle Jerry, their daughter Sara, Grandma.

 

Aunt Neva, Cousin Michelle, Cousin Leanne, Cousin Michelle's husband whose name escapes me at the moment, Aunt Jennifer, Uncle Peanut, Grandma, and Kelsey (I think).

 

Aunt Neva, Aunt Pam, Uncle Junior, and Grandma.

 

Uncle Jerry, Uncle Junior, Uncle Peanut, Uncle Butch.

 

Uncle Butch, Uncle Peanut, Uncle Junior, Uncle Jerry.

 

Aunt Neva, Me, my husband, and Grandma.
 

The Patio Project

A good 15 or 20 years ago, my husband and his cousin put down a deck outside the back of our house. Over the years it turned into an ugly, hideous looking thing that I was so ashamed of that I couldn't find a picture of the rear of the house in the last seven years or so.

I did find some partial photos that will give you an idea of how bad it looked:

The boards were coming up.

The stain was coming off.

Squirrels were eating the wood!

It was definitely time to do something about this. So this week the deck went out of here and a building contractor poured us a concrete patio to replace the wood.

The building contractor cutting rebar (?).

The patio formed up.

Just because I really like this picture. :-)

Ha. Men at work. Ain't that the way they do it?

Cement truck.



Pouring cement.



Raking the cement into place.

Forming it up and pouring and stuff.

Looks like playing in the mud, doesn't it?

It was fascinating to watch, really.

Troweling the cement to make it smooth.

More troweling.

Now it is taking shape!

Looking even better!

Almost done!

Ta da! Here it is. Not quite finished but almost.

Doesn't that look better?

We have to remove the boards after the cement has hardened. We still need to clean up and replant grass.

All in all, I think this will be a great fix to an ugly mess. The sidewalk is wide enough for a wheelchair, so now we're ready to get even older. I am looking forward to obtaining some nice planters in the spring and maybe a bench or two to place out here.

Job well done!

Sunday Stealing: Would You Rather

From Sunday Stealing

Would You Rather Meme

Would you rather . . .

 1. be stuck on an island alone or with someone who talks incessantly? Alone. Very alone.

 2. be too hot or too cold? Too cold.

 3. have a cook or a maid? Maid.

 4. be the youngest or the oldest sibling? I'm the oldest; I'll stick with that.

 5. get rich through hard work or through winning the lottery? Lottery.

 6. have a 10-hour dinner with a headstrong politician from an opposing party, or attend a 10-hour concert for a music group you detest?  Concert.

 7. be an Olympic gold medalist or a Nobel Peace Prize winner? Nobel Peace Price winner.

 8. have a desk job or an outdoor job? Desk job.

 9. live at the top of a tall NYC apartment building or at the top of a mountain?  Mountain top.

10. have Rambo or The Terminator on your side? Terminator.

11. be proposed to in private or in front of family and friends? Private.

12. have to sew all your clothes or grow your own food? Grow food.

13.  hear the good news or the bad news first? Good news.

14. be your own boss or work for someone else? Own boss.

15. have nosy neighbors or noisy neighbors? Nosy neighbors.

16. be on a survival reality show or dating game show? Reality show.

17. too busy or be bored? Too busy.

18. watch the big game at home or live at the stadium? At home.

19. spend the day with your favorite athlete or you favorite movie star? Movie star.

20. live where it is constantly winter or where it is constantly summer? Summer.

__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: Perfect Storm

Saturday 9: Perfect Storm (2014)
 
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song is about "the thrill of a lifetime" kind of love. Do you believe we each get one great love? Or do you think it's possible to fall in love more than once?

A. I expect it is possible to fall in love more than once, because while my husband of 32 years is my great love, I love a great many people, some quite ferociously. It's just not a sexual kind of love, but it is an intense feeling.

2) Brad Paisley endured his own "perfect storm" in 2010, when he lost his guitars in the massive flood that hit Nashville. Tell us about a time when you had to clean up after Mother Nature.

A. That would be the Flood of 1985. This was the biggest disaster to ever hit my area. Ten people died. My basement flooded in the house we lived in at the time. My husband was a firefighter who rescued many, many people, putting himself in great peril to do so. My grandmother's house went almost completely underwater and she lost nearly everything. She lived on the Roanoke River. Cleaning her place up was the worst. It smelled like sewer - everything was lost, for the most part. Only a few things were not damaged by water. She became very depressed and I spent months trying to cheer her.

3) He is married to actress Kimberly Williams, who played Steve Martin's daughter in the Father of the Bride movies. He has admitted he was a little in love with her before he met because he'd seen her on screen. Do you have a crush on anyone right now?

 

A. Just my husband.

4) He's a passionate Cleveland Browns fan. Are you following the NFL this season?

 

A. What's the NFL? National Fooseball League? Never Feel Lonely group? I guess not. Actually, I haven't followed professional football since the days of Jim somebody and The Refrigerator guy.

5) Brad has developed his own line of western wear for Boot Barn, including some pricey items. (A "Perfect Storm" felt hat goes for $230.) What's the most expensive item you've added to your wardrobe recently?

 

A. Tennis shoes. They are always my most expensive item because of my bad ankle.

   
6) "Paisley" is also a term for a popular print. Are you wearing a print or solid right now?

 

A. I have a shirt with words on it. Literally, it looks blue from a distance but up close it has the text from "The Secret Garden" on it.

7) Crazy Sam is not a big country fan, but she can sing along with this song because it played so very often at a bar she frequents. What's the last song you sang?

 

A. I think I was playing something by the Eagles on the guitar the other night.

 
8) Though Brad Paisley has recorded songs about drinking, he never touches alcohol. His favorite beverage is Yoohoo, a chocolate beverage bottled by the Dr. Pepper/Snapple Company. What's the last beverage you drank directly from the bottle?

 

A. Water. If you want something flavored, it would have been an A&W Root Beer. That is all I drink. Water and root beer.

 

9) Random question from a Sat9er: What's your favorite handmade item?

 

A. A clock my friend gave me. 

 

_____________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

Thursday Thirteen

Yesterday was my anniversary - 32 years of marital bliss to the same guy. In an age where many people have been married multiple times, I'm not sure how we've managed to hang on to one another, but we have.

My husband is a hard-working fellow. He has three jobs - he's a Battalion Chief with the local city fire department, a septic tank installer, and a farmer. He is a good guy and I'm lucky to have him.

Anyway, here are 13 pictures of my husband.

As a baby. Isn't he cute?



In September 2015.

A few years ago.



He rides a motorcycle, too.

On the tractor.

In his dress blues.

Asleep and unaware.

He loves to hunt.

A rare day off.

In his uniform again.

As a young firefighter.

Standing by his bride.

On his 50th birthday. I threw him a surprise party at the fire station, and he was not overly happy about that.

_____________

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 421st time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Thirty-Two Years of Marital Bliss

Nothing to See Here

I consider myself fairly well-read and I did not hear about the bombings in Beirut (which happened Thursday before the Friday bombings in Paris) until Sunday. The media, which has become too narrowly focused, offers only the points of views of its owners now, points of views which I do not share. I love all of humanity, not just the ones I feel some cultural connection with. I should not have to read the newspapers in other countries to feel like I have a better, more well-rounded view of the world, but I do and I must.
 

To put this in perspective, when 32 people at Virginia Tech were murdered, it was a global story. When 43 people die by suicide bombings in Beirut, we hear nothing. Are we that immune to the suffering of others? Is it us or the media? Or both?

 

We are a world, not a nation. When will we realize that we are all connected? We are not islands unto ourselves. Even if we wanted to do it, corporations would not stand for closed borders and loss of trade. That's all bluster and buffoonery.

 

This world operates on many levels. I cannot do a thing about the powerful who control what goes on, but I can still open my mind, read, and learn. I can formulate my own opinions. My opinions, generally, are not the same as the ones who control things. It is as if the world operates on more than one axis, and I swirl around on one and others on another.

 

If I could tell people one thing, it would be to read and reach outside of their bubble of information. I read right-wing and liberal things. I wish everyone would.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/14/us-mideast-crisis-lebanon-idUSKCN0T314120151114#iW5eo4vu5c0ZxJG2.97

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/11/beirut-paris-attacks-151115075935564.html

A Hooded Falcon

Falconry is the "art" of hunting wild prey with birds. Falconry has been around since about 2200 BC in China and at least 1700 BC in other areas. So humans have been capturing these birds and training them for a long time.

Saturday a young man caught two falcons on the farm. They are, I think, peregrine falcons (but I am not sure). He will train the falcons. He has a permit to do this as required by state law. My husband gave him permission to look for wild falcons on the farm.

This is the falcon with a hood on. The hood will have to stay on for a while until the bird is used to the man.

As you can see, the bird is not very big.

This is the wing span of the falcon. The bird looks much like a dove from afar. I've probably seen the bird many times but did not realize what it was.



A front shot of the bird.


I am not sure how I feel about this. I looked up falconry in Virginia and found the Virginia Falconers' Association. It says most falconers consider themselves to be conservationists because they try to protect the environment for these and other birds. It is an old activity, thousands of years old, and the birds are still here, so I suppose it is probably okay. However, I do not think wild things should be tamed for sport, so for that reason I have mixed feelings about it.

You just never know what will go on around here.